Catch up Day

No excuse for not updating our blog – just lazy I guess. I have been doing alot of reading at night and put other things on hold. I will try to catch you up on what we have done.

One day we took a ride to a camera shop in Santa Ana taking the back rodes. We went thru an area called Little Siagon. Wow could not believe how huge the area is and all the stores for the Vietnam people. We went to the drug store and picked up prescriptions and then took a mile and 1/2 walk.

On Valentine’s day we went downtown Seal Beach and took a walk on the pier. We got to see a whale in the water – if you go to the end of the blog you will see where Tim posted pictures. It was really unbelievable to see a whale that close to shore – everyone was standing in awe. After taking a nice walk and loads of pictures we went to Olive Garden for a late lunch. We love the salad and breadsticks – so good.

Another day we took a ride back to Hollywood and found a park where we climbed the hill and could see the sign perfectly. Tim was in his glory. The sign was first erected in 1923 and said Hollywoodland. Each letter was 30 feet wide and 50 feet tall. In 1932 an actress climbed on it and commited sucide. It is now all fenced in and you cannot get anywhere near it. In 1949 they removed land from it and it was called Hollywood. Hollywood used to be really nice – well today it is really run down. We went to the corner of Vine and Hollywood where all the stars names are in the sidewalks. Pretty cool to see – we saw lots of names we regonized. They say people keep coming here thinking they will get rich, believe me this is not a place to come. We saw lots of homeless people and run down buildings and homes. Really kind of sad to see so much decay. We then wandered home on the back roads – we try to stay off highways as much as possible. We stopped at In n Out for lunch – this is a chain of fast food restaurants out here where they make your food after ordering. Really nice and soooo good. At 5PM we went over to Carol and Al’s and had dip, shrimp, nuts, grapes and all kinds of goodies. They are super nice people. I must say we met more people at Seal Beach cuz the weather is warmer and you can stay outside. Great.

A few other things we have enjoyed while at Seal Beach was going to Frye’s Electronics. What a store for anyone interested in Electronic things. Tim told me he used to order from them – they do loads of business both in the mail order and stores. I am not techie but I enjoyed this store.

Yesterday we left the camper at 7AM and drove thru the LA traffic to Hollywood to attend the Dr Phil Show. We arrived about 8:15 and stood in line until 9. We then were let in thru the gates to an outside area with benches and sat there until after 11. It was quite cold and most of us did not have on coats. One lady from Minnesota entertained us – she was so darn funny and she was just a visitor like us. Some people just have that knacki to make you laugh – she sure helped to pass the time and we enjoyed her so. We got seats in the last row – if you know where Robin (Dr Phil’s wife) sits we were about 3 rows behind her. All the seats are good – you can see from any seat. The subject was What People Will do for 15 minutes of fame. It was okay – was not to impressed by the whole operation. It is at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood and it looks like old warehouses. I always thought Hollywood would be glamorous – boy was I wrong. The traffic is alful in LA area and not just during rush hour – they have 6 lanes going one direction and it still comes to a stop.

Today we moved from Seal Beach and came down to Camp Pendleton. We are staying on base right on the ocean – we are sitting in the sand. The view is just beautiful and the sound of the surf is awesome. This is the busiest base in the world – marines are everywhere. We had to wait to pull into the campground as the Assault Amphibian Vehicles were going by. These vehicles weigh over 26 tons, carries 3 man crew and can carry up to 25 marines in the back. They go about 45 miles per hour on land and about 8 miles per hour in the water. It is really cool watching them. We also got to see the guys running along the ocean and then doing pushups in the water. It is an interesting base to see what marines really do. We sat outside and read and then walked the beach. I did put my feet in the water but it is quite cold. We will be here thru Monday and then start east.

California has been quite interesting – did you know that car dealers have parking garages for the cars. Really cool. They also have sprinkler systems along the highway – never saw anything like this before but of course they do not get much rain or snow like we used to have back east.

Talked to Amanda and Josh tonight – will talk to Susan and girls this weekend. They are in Vermont this week skiing. I will try to update on a daily basis as it really is easier – forget what we do otherwise.